The invention generally relates to the field of producing a liquid comestible or beverage from ingredients contained in a capsule.
In the recent past beverage ingredient containing capsules have found widespread application for producing different types of beverages, such as for example tea or coffee, and other liquid comestibles. These capsules are designed for a use in connection with a dedicated beverage production machine which is provided with means for feeding a liquid into the interior of the capsule such that the liquid interacts with the ingredients contained in the capsule, the result of the interaction being a produced beverage or other liquid comestibles.
Some of the known machines are provided with sophisticated control systems setting all kind of operation parameters for the beverage production process. These parameters can include (non-exhaustive list) e.g. the temperature and the volume of the liquid supplied to the interior of the capsule as well as the time duration of the interaction of the liquid with the ingredients contained to the capsule.
It is also known that the beverage production machine is provided with a user interface such that the user can set operational parameters according to his/her preferences.
Once these parameters have been manually set, the beverage production machine will use the defined set of parameters for every following beverage production process.
In the state of the art, capsules can be found with identification elements in the form of several mechanical contacts which are selectively sensed by sensing means of the machine. Typically, the contacts are made visible and in relief at the surface of the capsule and are directly sensed by fixed sensing means of the machine. Such system has several disadvantages. External mechanical contacts are exposed and they can be damaged or altered either accidentally or on purpose. The modification of the contacts can create a severe disorder of the system and/or set incorrect beverage parameters.
For instance, EP 0 638 486 relates to a cartridge for the preparation of a beverage comprising a plurality of teeth moulded along one side edge of the cartridge. The teeth have recesses formed there between. The teeth are intended to enable the cartridge to be driven through a beverage preparation machine by the engagement of a cam. At the opposite side of the edge of the cartridge, are formed a plurality of pegs such that as the package is driven into the machine by the engagement of teeth with the cam, the presence or absence of the upstanding pegs is sensed by a sensing arm which thereby will identify a different type of cartridge. The sensing arm operates a switch which thereby transmits information concerning the presence or absence of the pegs on the package to the control mechanism for the beverage dispensing machine. The arrangement of pegs on the cartridge thus identifies the type of cartridge to a controller which then selects the appropriate beverage preparation conditions.
In the state of the art also capsules can be found which are provided at their outer face with a bar code such that the beverage production machine can read the information represented by the bar code and can thus identify the associated capsule. The provision of a bar code has several disadvantages: to start with, as the bar code has to be visible at the outer face of the capsule, this automatically has a negative impact on the aesthetic appearance of the capsule. On the other hand, there is always the risk that in the environment of the beverage production process the legibility of the bar code will be endangered e.g. by water/vapour deposited on the bar code or optical elements of the reader.
For instance, US 2002/0048621 relates to an encoded coffee packet and a beverage producing device comprising a sensor configured to detect encoded data stored on the beverage packet and a processor configured to interpret the encoded data and to direct production of a beverage according to the encoded data. The encoded data can be a visual code such as a barcode, a geometrical shape, a text string, glyph, a digital watermark, notches, grooves or holes.
EP 1 629 752 A2 discloses a beverage production system with a memory that stores information about the order of the beverage cartridges dispensed by the beverage preparation machine.